Organizing and consolidating information dealing with simplifying life since January 2006, to help those considering a lifestyle change as well as those expert at living an abundant life in a frugal way.

January 1, 2007

Food as Medicine: Healing Arthritis

Here, in its entirety, an article by Dr. Ruth Yale Long of the Nutrition Education Association, as shown on ghc.health.com, quoted in its entirety there by Dr. Ellen Tart-Jensen:

Healing ArthritisDr. Ellen Tart-Jensen

There has been a request from one of our students thismonth for me to write about arthritis. Dr. Ruth Yale Long fromthe Nutrition Education Association wrote, “Arthritis is anutritional deficiency disease. If we all eat the nutrients weneed, we can live out our lives without the misery ofarthritis.” Indeed, Dr. Bernard Jensen, my late father-in-law,traveled into Russia and met people over 100 years oldcompletely free from arthritis. He said that some of thesepeople rode up to greet him on horseback, very limber andagile. Why did these people not have arthritis? They livedclose to nature, growing their own gardens, picking their ownvegetables and eating them. They went barefooted on the earthand worked outside in fresh air and sunshine. They were happyand contented.

How can we prevent arthritis? And if we have arthritis,how can we heal it? First of all, let’s examine some of thecauses of arthritis. When people eat denatured foods that havebeen canned, preserved, packaged and nuked, there are novitamins and minerals left in them. The joints need minerals inorder to stay lubricated. The joints are lined with lymphfluid. That lymph fluid is the same fluid that makes up ourtears when we cry. Have you ever tasted your tears? They arevery salty. Organic sodium is necessary to keep the lymphhealthy. Organic sodium helps to hold calcium in the bone.When calcium comes out of the bone, crystals form in the jointscausing pain, inflammation and swelling. Soon the joints becomeenlarged and hardened.

Some people reading this will think they need to eatlots of salt. This is far from the truth. Salt dries up thelymph fluid. Table salt is much different from natural, organicsodium. Table salt is made from salt rocks and is mined fromthe earth. This salt is nearly impossible for the body toabsorb. So, you may ask about sea salt. Most sea salt doescome from the sea, but it has been heated to high temperaturesand all the minerals are destroyed. In order to get natural,organic sodium, we must get it from plants or goat whey. Plantsstretch their roots far into the earth and absorb the salt thatis there and transmute it to a form we can absorb. Goats eatthose plants and the organic sodium goes into their milk. Goatwhey is the clear fluid that is in the milk. It is separatedfrom the milk solids during the cheese making process and isvery rich in organic sodium. Dr. Jensen insisted that everyperson with arthritis, take goat whey to help dissolve thearthritic crystals and help them be reabsorbed by the bone. Theorganic sodium in goat whey also helps to relieve inflammation.It can be taken in powdered form in a cup of hot water. Ittastes salty much like bullion. Goat mineral whey also comes incapsule form.

So, the first cause of arthritis is neglecting toconsume the foods we need that are high in organic sodium andorganic minerals. The second cause is consuming “foods” thatactually drain the body of the sodium, calcium, minerals and Bvitamins that are already there. Some of these “foods” arecoffee, sugar, table salt, black tea, chocolate and sodas(sweetened with sugar or nutra-sweet). In order to processthese unnatural foods, the body has to use up its reserves ofsodium, calcium, minerals and vitamins and these unnatural foodshave no nutrients in them to give back to the body. Over timethe body is in a deficit of nutrients just like an empty bankaccount is in deficit of dollars.

The third cause of arthritis is long-term stress.Stress causes the body to burn up nutrients very rapidly and ifone is not eating properly to replace these nutrients, arthritiscan occur. Organic sodium and B vitamins in the body are thefirst elements to be used up under stress. Without naturalsodium in the body, inflammation takes place. Without Bvitamins the nervous system and the adrenal glands become weak.Stress weakens the adrenal glands so they are no longer able toproduce normal amounts of cortisol. A lack of cortisol alsocauses inflammation. When people go to the doctor witharthritis, they usually receive cortisone and it may reducetheir symptoms. After a while, if they don’t change their dietsand lifestyles and they continue taking the cortisone, they canhave very bad side effects.

To prevent arthritis or to help it to heal, one needsorganic sodium and all of the B vitamins in the form of a Bcomplex. Foods high in sodium are: GOAT WHEY, celery, darkgreen leafy vegetables, beet tops, dandelion greens,strawberries and okra. Foods high in the B vitamins are RICEBRAN SYRUP, brown rice, rice bran, oats, Brewer’s yeast,cornmeal, almonds and alfalfa. ALFALFA TABLETS are high in Bvitamins and minerals. They are also high in chlorophyll thatcleans the blood and liver and fiber that cleanses the bowel.Because of all of the wonderful nutrients in alfalfa tablets,they have been known to help arthritis tremendously.Glucosamine Sulfate helps to support the joints and buildhealthy connective tissue as well. Tumeric, aloe vera juice andwhite willow bark also help to relieve inflammation and pain.One must also avoid all of the foods listed in this letter thatare completely deficient in nutrients.

Soaking in hot baths with three cups of Epsom salts canbe very soothing for those with arthritis. Epsom Salts are highin magnesium and help the muscles relax. Castor oil packs onaffected areas can truly help to relieve pain and dissolvecrystals. Dr. Christopher’s Complete Tissue and Bone Creamcombined with Eucalyptus or Peppermint oil rubbed into achingjoints has helped many. Arnica cream has often helped as well.

Finally, review your life. Let go of what is stressful.Balance stress with deep breathing, nice music, relaxing walksin nature or reading a pleasant book. Avoid loud and aggressivepeople. Do things that bring you joy!

CASTOR OIL PACKSWarm castor oil in a small pan. Do not boil. Dip acotton or wool flannel cloth into the oil and apply to affectedarea. Cover first with plastic wrap and then a towel. Place aheating pad on top of the pack. Turn the heating pad on andleave it on for about an hour. Castor oil packs can workmiracles."

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Hi!

I'm Reba Kennedy, a Baby Boomer who is happily living the voluntary simplicity lifestyle in San Antonio. I began blogging about this way of life here in January 2006 for two reasons: to keep track of stuff and to share what I've found with others - like you, Dear Reader.

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I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

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